Visiting Machu Picchu had been a dream of mine since I started planning my Year Abroad back in 2016 - I initially intended to spend a few months volunteering in Peru, and hoped to include a trip to the iconic Inca citadel during that time. But then my plans changed, and I ended up spending a crazy, eventful and ultimately incredible semester in Chile instead.
Four years later, I've found myself living in South America for the second time in my life, and I knew that this time, I couldn't let the opportunity pass to visit this archaeological site, which is considered to be one of the most incredible sights to see in the entire world. In fact, it was voted as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World in 2007, which made me want to visit it even more, as I'd never been to any of the 7 Wonders before!
So, as you can imagine, I was extremely excited to finally go to Machu Picchu last month. But I was also very nervous that something could go wrong - I'd had a couple of problems with the information on my ticket, and although I'd been assured via email that everything was okay, I was still worried that somehow I'd be denied entry. How awful would it have been to have gone all the way to Peru and spent a week there, and then to be unable to visit the place I'd wanted to see most!
For this reason, I barely slept the night before my visit to the citadel, and I got up in the morning not feeling too great. I'd planned to hike to the site rather than taking the bus, both to save money and because I wanted to feel like I'd earned my visit to Machu Picchu, but I started to wonder if the bus might be a better idea, given how I was feeling.
However, once I got out into the main street of Aguas Calientes and saw the huge queue for the bus, I changed my mind again and decided to hike after all!
The first part of the hike is just an easy walk along the river, which took me about twenty minutes, walking reasonably fast. Once you reach a checkpoint next to a bridge, you have to show your ticket and passport, and then you begin the hiking trail itself, which is basically just lots and lots of steep and uneven steps cutting through the zigzag road that the buses take up to the site. It's considered a moderately challenging hike that's meant to take around 60 minutes on average. I was a little daunted by it but very motivated!
I entered the trail, and was instantly surrounded by sweltering jungle, with exotic butterflies and swarms of mosquitos flying around. After putting on some sunblock and insect repellent, I was ready to begin climbing.
The hike was certainly challenging - walking up hundreds upon hundreds of steps is an exhausting task, so much so that I took the longer route around the zigzag road a couple of times, just to have a bit of a breather. Although I enjoy exercise and consider myself reasonably fit, I usually do more varied workouts of around 30 minutes or less, and rarely do exercise as long and relentless as this.
However, the hike is enjoyable too, because the views you get of both jungle and mountains are so spectacular; this is truly a unique area of nature.
Two people passed me on my way up the trek, and maybe around ten passed on their way down, but the trail was surprisingly quiet. I had expected more people would want to do the hike (it's free, unlike the 12 dollar bus ticket!), but it seems that the bus is overwhelmingly the more popular option. The quietness of the trail made me feel even more adventurous and intrepid!
When I finally reached the top, I was dripping with sweat and panting with exhaustion, but feeling very proud of myself for completing this challenge! Despite having taken the longer route around the road for parts of the hike, I'd still managed to do it in around 60 minutes as expected, so I was really happy.
And at last it was finally time for me to enter Machu Picchu!
The first thing you see when you enter isn't the iconic view we've all seen on social media and travel guides, but it's still pretty amazing!
After walking up some steps (I was very tired of steps by this point!), you finally get to see the citadel laid out in front of you.
And a little bit further along, you get that absolutely iconic view that really takes your breath away. To tell the truth, I had been a little worried that Machu Picchu wouldn't live up to my expectations - after all, I'd already seen it countless times in pictures and videos. But to actually be there, seeing it with my own eyes, was an incredible experience that I'll never forget. It had taken two flights, an Uber ride, a train journey and a challenging hike to get there, but it was so worth all the time, money and effort to finally just be there, take in the spectacular views, and soak up all the atmosphere and history of the place.
The tour of the site lasted around two hours, but it felt like 10 minutes! Being at Machu Picchu was like being in a dream, and I couldn't quite believe it was really happening. But I tried my best to retain at least some of the information from the tour, which was very interesting.
People have various theories about the purpose of the site, but the most likely one is that it was a spiritual retreat, which makes sense, as it has several temples. It's amazing to see how well the buildings have been preserved since the site was built around 600 years ago.
It was nice to see some cute llamas at Machu Picchu. But the guide explained that, unfortunately, the llamas have been taken out of their natural habitat, which is the dryer areas of the mountains, and that this jungle environment isn't good for them.
On a happier note, we also saw a viscacha (like a big rabbit), which is native to the area. He or she was sitting in the window of a temple and looked very cute!
Overall, visiting Machu Picchu was a real dream come true. I remember sitting in my parent's house last year, unable to go anywhere and not knowing when I would next see my boyfriend. During that year in which I didn't travel abroad at all, I daydreamed a lot about the places I'd visit around Latin America when I finally managed to move to
Chile, and Machu Picchu (along with a few more of the places we've already been to this year) was definitely one of the ones I thought about most!
Although this year has had its challenges, I feel incredibly happy that I have at last managed to move to Chile, that Claudio and I now live in our little apartment together, and that I've had the opportunity to visit amazing places such as this. 😊
After the tour, it was time to hike back down the way I'd come up. This time the trail was a little busier than before, but there were still huge lines of people waiting to take the bus back to Aguas Calientes. To be honest, I would encourage anyone able-bodied who's visiting Machu Picchu to at least hike down afterwards - yes, the way up is challenging and you need to be reasonably fit to do it, but the way down is much easier, and you get to enjoy walking through the jungle, and you save yourself 12 dollars! It's a no-brainer really!
When I crossed over the bridge at the end of the trail, I felt super happy to have experienced this amazing morning of hiking and exploring one of my bucket list destinations. I also realised that from the bridge, you can see another archaeological site, which made me even happier!
All in all, it had been a real once-in-a-lifetime trip, and I'm so happy that I was finally able to realise my travel dream of 6 years! But to be honest, even though seeing Machu Picchu was the reason I took this trip, the entire week I had in Peru was incredible, and I'll always have great memories of my travels in
Cusco,
the Sacred Valley,
Maras and Moray, and
Aguas Calientes.
And although for many people, Machu Picchu and the surrounding area
are Peru, I've read a lot more about the country while planning this trip and
our trip to Tacna in June, and I now have so much Wanderlust to explore other Peruvian destinations in the future! Most of all, I'd really like to go to Lima, the Ballestas Islands and Máncora, but Arequipa, Iquitos and Trujillo also interest me. As I'll have to leave Chile at least for a short while next February for visa reasons, perhaps I'll end up returning to Peru then, but otherwise, I hope to return at some point in the future! This country has so much to offer, and I'm glad to have experienced one beautiful corner of it during this unforgettable week. 😊
